Seasonal Dragons take on the characteristics of the season during which they are born. Thus, eggs that are laid in spring match the pink flowers and green buds of spring, and those that are laid in the summer grow to depict the bright green of the forest trees and the yellow of the sun. Eggs laid in autumn display the bright colors of leaves falling from trees, and those that are laid during winter take on the appearance of the icy snow.

Dragons are highly-intelligent reptilian creatures that—from a human perspective, at least—appear to live forever. Many different varieties of dragon exist, each with their own unique qualities, habitats, and behavior. Adolescence in dragons is usually marked by the growth of a hatchling’s wings, although not all breeds of dragons grow wings and some breeds have other traits that indicate the beginning of maturation. In Galsreim, dragons and humans coexist peacefully.

First Autumn Girl takes after her mother and grandmother in her name and origin. She was born on the day of the Autumn equinox, and so instead of being born on the last Summer day, was the first of the Autumn Seasonal dragons that year.

She exhibits a keen sense of time, and has a peculiar habit of making a "solstice countdown" tree every year, from which she removes one leaf a day until the solstice. This has been everything from a charcoal drawing on the cave wall, to a craft tree made out of fallen leaves, and one year a live, small sapling, each always having exactly the right amount of leaves, no matter upon which days the equinox and solstice fall, despite the yearly variances. Several of the other dragons show interest in her sorts of calendars, eager for the solstice festivals, since she makes it so very easy for them to tell how long their wait must be.